Beijing has said it will hold supporters of Taiwan independence criminally liable for life and has listed several punishments, including prohibiting all accused or their families from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Speaking on Friday, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that Beijing has created a list of people who are “stubbornly pro-Taiwan independence,” and that it intends to make sure they’re punished.
The spokeswoman claimed that those listed as diehard secessionists should be punished in accordance with the law. The law will see those listed, as well as family members, prohibited from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau while further mechanisms would prevent them from benefiting monetarily from the mainland.
“The mainland will pursue criminal responsibility for Taiwan independence diehards in accordance with the law, and it will be effective for life,” she said, adding that several individuals, whom she named, had been trying to instigate confrontation across the Taiwan Strait.
Zhu contended that these people, who were partnering with external forces to push their agenda, were “seriously endangering peace” and needed to be punished. However, there are only a small number of these people, she asserted.
The spokeswoman had been asked to comment on reports that Beijing had been evaluating disciplinary measures against Taiwanese separatists.
Beijing claims Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and has demanded that Western parties, notably the US and Britain, refrain from interfering in what it sees as an internal affair.
Taiwan has been independent from China since 1949 when the government of the Republic of China lost the mainland to the communists, forcing the Kuomintang-ruled state to relocate to the island.
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